Ilhan Omar Lashes Out at Muslim Activist Who Asked Her About Female Genital Mutilation

Zachary Stieber
By Zachary Stieber
July 24, 2019Politics
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Ilhan Omar Lashes Out at Muslim Activist Who Asked Her About Female Genital Mutilation
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) speaks at a press conference on the Capitol on July 15, 2019. (Holly Kellum/NTD)

Muslim Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) declined to answer a question about female genital mutilation asked of her by a Muslim activist at an event in Washington on July 23.

Ani Zonneveld, a Muslim activist who founded the Muslims for Progressive Values group, stood up at the Muslim Collective for Equitable Democracy event and referenced the case of De. Jumana Nagarwala, a doctor who was charged after authorities said she mutilated nine girls in the Midwest.

Some of the girls hailed from Omar’s home state of Minnesota and female genital mutilation, known as FGM, is often linked to Islam.

Omar erupted on Zonneveld, responding that the question was “appalling.”

Ilhan Omar, D-MN, attends a press conference
Rep. Ilhan Omar, (D-Minn.), attends a press conference in the House Visitors Center at the US Capitol in Washington, on Nov. 30, 2018. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

“Should I make a schedule? Does this need to be on repeat every five minutes?” Omar asked Zonneveld.

“Should I be like, so today I forgot to condemn al-Qaeda, so here’s the al-Qaeda one. Today I forgot to condemn FGM, so here it goes. Today I forgot to condemn Hamas, so here it goes,” she continued as the audience clapped.

“It is a very frustrating question that comes up. You can look at my record. I’ve voted for bills doing exactly what you’re asking me to do. I have put out statements upon statements,” she said.

“I am quite disgusted really, to be honest, that as Muslim legislators we are constantly being asked to waste our time speaking to issues that other people are not asked to speak to, because the assumption exists that we somehow support and are for [FGM].”

She said she hopes in the future herself and the other Muslim in Congress, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), will be asked “proper questions.”

“I want to make sure that the next time someone is in an audience, and is looking at me and Rashida … that they ask us the proper questions that they will probably ask any member of Congress or any legislator or any politician,” she said.

Omar reacted similarly when asked about her perceived support of al-Qaeda.

“I will not dignify it with an answer because I know that every single Islamophobe, every single person who is hateful, who is driven by an ideology of ‘othering’ as this president is, rejoices in us responding to that and us defending ourselves,” Omar said at a press conference on July 15. “I think it is beyond time, it’s beyond time to ask Muslims to condemn terrorists. We are no longer going to allow the dignification of such ridiculous, ridiculous statement.”

Zonneveld issued a statement on Wednesday, writing: “Regrettably the Congresswoman did not respond to the substance of the question but rather attacked me for asking it. I would have hoped that she instead had used this as an opportunity to educate everyone about what she has done on this issue, using her powerful voice to advocate against this and to help others to see the real harm of this cultural practice.”

“Even though Muslims are questioned constantly about things by non-Muslims with ill-Intent, the same should not be assumed for Muslims who are genuinely trying to advocate for issues of deep concern to our community. We are not the enemy,” Zonneveld added.

Other activists had condemned Omar, including Maryum Saifee.

“The federal law on FGM was recently overturned in Detroit. Nine girls were transported from Minnesota and Illinois to Michigan. This isn’t about singling out a Muslim-American representative—it’s about singling out a representative from a state whose constituents (seven-year-old girls) were brutally cut and have to deal with a highly likely scenario where they will not see justice,” Saifee wrote.

“This isn’t about identity politics. It’s about standing up for your constituents. Please don’t call yourself an unapologetic social justice warrior when your outrage is selective. You are being asked to weigh in *because* these girls are *your* constituents. So yes, that’s what representatives are supposed to do—they are supposed to advocate and represent their constituents.”

Facts on FGM

According to the World Health Organization, more than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is concentrated.

The mutilation is typically carried out on girls younger than age 16 and sometimes on infants.

“FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women,” the organization stated. “The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women.”

“It involves removing and damaging healthy and normal female genital tissue, and interferes with the natural functions of girls’ and women’s bodies. Generally speaking, risks increase with increasing severity of the procedure,” the organization added.

People who migrate from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia may perform the mutilations or have them done when they arrive at a new country, according to the group. FGM is motivated by families bowing to social pressure, considering it “a necessary part of raising a girl,” and believing that it helps girls avoid premarital sex.

“Though no religious scripts prescribe the practice, practitioners often believe the practice has religious support,” the organization stated. “Religious leaders take varying positions with regard to FGM: some promote it, some consider it irrelevant to religion, and others contribute to its elimination.”

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